LOS ANGELES | Central City Project Rundown 5.0

[WonderlandPark]

So the soil testing that I posted a pic of a while back was for real. Great news.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by BrandonJXN

I don't mind Ava's tangerine dream color scheme so much. At least not in Little Tokyo. It's a lively area that warrants color and such. The next step is to get rid of that Office Depot. That's a valuable piece of land.

Ava is by far the ugliest building under construction. Insane colors, lots of mismatched materials, weird attachments to the facade and topped with an —. It is the Mr. Potatohead of architecture. No lively area deserves this monstrosity.

But hey, I can agree about Office Depot.

[blackcat23]

http://buildinglosangeles.blogspot.com/2014/06/check-out-specs-for-metropolis-phase-ii.html

Small update for Metropolis. Phase II calls for a total of 1,250 condominiums, located in two towers. Small building has 510 units, the larger one calls for 740 units/67,000 sq ft of retail.

Phase one tower heights
Hotel - 19 stories/271 feet
Residential - 38 stories/442 feet



One angle of the project that I haven't seen posted yet, from Kilograph:



And a some more detailed versions of the rejected design that Curbed posted late last year:

[alki]

Originally Posted by brudy

Probably too soon to tell, and both those buildings aren't nearly as impressive as 717 (and in the case of Ava just downright ugly). I also wonder how the JIA is doing? It's rents are slightly less than Ava, but still not cheap by any stretch (575 sq ft studio for $1770).

My sense is that DTLA is a strong market but I get confused with some comments which suggest its a hot market like SF. That why it would be nice to see real numbers for the rent up of Ava, Avant or even JIA. Either way these units will get rented.

Originally Posted by blackcat23

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-11...-as-towers-rise-from-boston-to-l-a-.html
This meshes with the photo from WonderlandPark a few weeks back, which showed soil testing underway at 1050 S. Grand Avenue.

I like the design of the building. I may be wrong but I think there is another condo project very close to going into the ground.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by alki

My sense is that DTLA is a strong market but I get confused with some comments which suggest its a hot market like SF. That why it would be nice to see real numbers for the rent up of Ava, Avant or even JIA. Either way these units will get rented.

I like the design of the building. I may be wrong but I think there is another condo project very close to going into the ground.

I don't have firsthand knowledge of how hot the market in SF is for comparison, but I do know that I get 1 to 2 letters or postcards per week from local real estate agents asking me if I've considered selling and encouraging me to get in touch with them. So anecdotally at least, the market in DTLA seems pretty hot to me.

[WonderlandPark]

I get those postcards all the time for my condo.


As for Metropolis, I am happiest with the current proposal as far as the tower designs are concerned.

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by WonderlandPark

As for Metropolis, I am happiest with the current proposal as far as the tower designs are concerned.

Agreed. Metropolis is one of the few projects in LA that had a fantastic revision for what we were previously going to have.

Imagine if this had actually broken ground.



Great news for glass tower. Can't wait. With Onni's two towers, and Amacon's 28 story rising along with it it'll be another residential boom in South Park on the scale of 2006-2009. Let's see it happen

[brudy]

Originally Posted by alki

My sense is that DTLA is a strong market but I get confused with some comments which suggest its a hot market like SF. That why it would be nice to see real numbers for the rent up of Ava, Avant or even JIA. Either way these units will get rented.



I like the design of the building. I may be wrong but I think there is another condo project very close to going into the ground.

No doubt DTLA is a strong rental market. People want to live here. But the question for me is are those people the same people willing to pay 2k for a studio in one of these new buildings? I have my doubts. You need younger, single people with a lot of money (since roommates are a stretch in this layout). Downtown might be at capacity now, but a lot of the historic core is cheaper than these newer buildings, and with the pricepoints heading north, that might not be the case in the future.

[caligrad]

Speaking of metropolis, I was downtown today, I took that off ramp on 9th today, the site is completely fenced and ready to go, all the cars were crammed in the north corner, I'm sure people were mad that their normal parking was fenced, HA! good riddance. I saw 2 Bulldozers on Francisco street right in front of the site, i got stoked for a minute but when i drove back later when heading to the west side. they were gone :-(.

On the opposite side of dtwn by the AT&T tower, i forgot whats going here but on the corner of Olive and Pico, the hole in the ground is a good 2-3 stories down now, a lot of bulldozers and other heavy machinery onsite.

Great news about glass tower ! the only question now is will the design stay the same or change?

[alki]

Originally Posted by brudy

No doubt DTLA is a strong rental market. People want to live here. But the question for me is are those people the same people willing to pay 2k for a studio in one of these new buildings? I have my doubts. You need younger, single people with a lot of money (since roommates are a stretch in this layout). Downtown might be at capacity now, but a lot of the historic core is cheaper than these newer buildings, and with the pricepoints heading north, that might not be the case in the future.

What DTLA has......and I think its a demographic that is growing.......USC students whose parents are paying the rent. In the 90s they mostly lived on the west side. These days I bet they are migrating to DT. I suspect they are renting some of the more expensive units in South Park. I also believe its a bigger demographic than some think.

However, I get your concern. Many people who live in the historic core can't afford the new units opening. Getting those bldgs full will require some of the heavy hitters from the west side moving to DT. I am pretty sure that's what the developers are counting on. Time will tell if they made a mistake or not.

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

I don't have firsthand knowledge of how hot the market in SF is for comparison, but I do know that I get 1 to 2 letters or postcards per week from local real estate agents asking me if I've considered selling and encouraging me to get in touch with them. So anecdotally at least, the market in DTLA seems pretty hot to me.

Yeah, you may be right.......it could be that the for sale market is hot; then again, it could be that with low inventory, they are trying to get more units on the market just so they have something to show. To be certain that the market is hot, we need to see how long units sit on the market and whether they sell below, at, or over asking price.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

240 units designed by LA-based LOHA Architects

http://brighamyen.com/2014/06/12/strikin...itects-coming-arts-district-downtown-la/

[Illithid Dude]

I couldn't imagine a better project for the Art's District.

[bjornson]

It's a testament that not every 7-story shitbox has to be designed by TCA--this one's only five. People do pay attention to aesthetics regardless of what citywatch says. Just see the Scandinavian cities. If only some of the westside firms like LOHA, Daly Genik, Eichler, Brooks + Scarpa, or perhaps even EOM or Denari were commissioned. Architects know how to work within budgets.

Instead we're stuck with really bland work (the Canadian stuff, Arquitectonica, Gensler, AECOM, SOM, etc) or TCA. I'd still take the former over the latter tho.

[Illithid Dude]

Hopefully if this sells/leases well, developers will make more of an effort to use higher quality architecture. I feel like developers only use TCA because they figure that those other buildings were designed by TCA, and they are selling pretty well. If we could get the same response from a LOHA, or a Denari, then that would be fantastic. Also, I bet that when buildings of a higher architectural quality start to rise in DT, uglier buildings will suffer. When buildings are competing against each other for sales/leases, every little bit counts.

[blackcat23]

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-downtown-condos-20140612-story.html

Interesting article about Downtown's limited condo supply, with some good news as well:

The growing demand has lured at least one major developer. Greenland USA plans to start construction next week on a 308-unit condo tower near Staples Center, one piece of its massive Metropolis project. But the tower isn't scheduled to open until July 2016 at the earliest, according to the company's chief executive, Ifei Chang.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by bjornson

People do pay attention to aesthetics regardless of what citywatch says.

bjornson, you're putting words into my mouth. I have never said ppl don't pay attention to aesthetics. if anything, it's ironic that you make that claim about me when I have long believed that LA has gotten snubbed through the yrs due to many ppl being turned off by the city's lack of attention to appearance.

after all, I'm the one who previously mentioned the case of a tourist from india....not europe, but india, no less.....who about 6 or 7 yrs ago visited LA & wrote in her blog that she wasn't too thrilled with this part of Calif but instead did like sf. I've noticed that response from far too many other ppl....from a variety of backgrounds....to believe it's merely coincidental.

The important thing to remember: her type of reaction long predates the arrival of 'shitboxes' from TCA & other recent changes to the city.

I instead have always said that things need to be placed in their full context. So new devlpt in dtla, even the tacky projs from TCA or GH palmer, have to be weighed against all the still rundown areas of the hood, the swapmeets on broadway, the big gaps that a person keeps bumping into in every section of dt.

Another forumer also mentioned several wks ago that even the art directors he's dealt with through the yrs in his line of work made him realize how different ppl's tastes can be....meaning even ppl who are into creative, artistic matters can judge things quite differently.

Another forumer, brudy, very strongly dislikes the TCA proj in little tokyo, & understandably so. But in the other city compilations forum on LA, he posted a comment that leads me to believe he's not quite as bothered by the new blvd6200 apt proj in hollywood, which I think has turned out as ugly as, if not even uglier than, Ava in dtla.

So what I've long said....or implied....is that when it comes to new devlpt, there will be a variety of opinions. But when it comes to the really bad aspects of LA....when it comes to the older rundown sections of dt, or the swapmeets on broadway, or the deadening parking lots, much less the grime of skid row.....there will be more unanimity among most ppl about such things being....bad.

[alki]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-downtown-condos-20140612-story.html

Interesting article about Downtown's limited condo supply, with some good news as well:

I knew there was another condo project on the way. The article kills two birds with one stone. The condo market is heating up and there are people ready to pay the higher rents of the new bldgs. The article also explains why conversions are not taking place.


Good article. Thanks for posting.

[bobcat]

More Broadway retail rumors in this LA Weekly article about the Ace Hotel
http://www.laweekly.com/informer/2014/06...d-driving-downtowns-gentrification-video

But now an iconic section of DTLA is drawing major attention: Schley says Gucci toured the area last year. Bloomingdale's reportedly is seeking 170,000 square feet.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by bjornson

It's a testament that not every 7-story shitbox has to be designed by TCA--this one's only five. People do pay attention to aesthetics regardless of what citywatch says. Just see the Scandinavian cities. If only some of the westside firms like LOHA, Daly Genik, Eichler, Brooks + Scarpa, or perhaps even EOM or Denari were commissioned. Architects know how to work within budgets.

Instead we're stuck with really bland work (the Canadian stuff, Arquitectonica, Gensler, AECOM, SOM, etc) or TCA. I'd still take the former over the latter tho.

Totally agree. It's great to see something different for a freakin change. TCA is truly the bottom of the barrel.

In a recent issue of Dwell (yeah, I know), they were showing the architecture of northern European waste treatment plants. These plants would process trash and then send energy back into the power grid. These buildings were stunning and very cool. It's sad that we can't even get our residential buildings to rise to the same level of creativity as european garbage processors.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by alki

I knew there was another condo project on the way. The article kills two birds with one stone. The condo market is heating up and there are people ready to pay the higher rents of the new bldgs. The article also explains why conversions are not taking place.


Good article. Thanks for posting.

Yeah, it's a good quick read. On the renter thing though, here's the quote:

Developers say younger adults, many saddled with student debt and delaying marriage, are likely to remain renters for the foreseeable future.

So if they're saddled with debt, and jobs are scarce, how are they going to afford rents in these new buildings? They're banking on millennials, but if they fall through that may discourage development instead of adjusting the type of units offered. Ok - I'm done harping on this for now.

And anybody else think 472k for a Barker Block unit isn't that bad? I can't afford it, but that seems reasonable given how nice the units and the immediate area are.